Ethical and green living with Lucy Siegle + Energy | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/series/its-not-easy-being-green+energy
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Should I fight against fossil fuels? | Lucy Sieglehttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/16/fight-against-fossil-fuels-lucy-siegle
At my university there’s a strong climate-action group campaigning to get the college to divest its funds from fossil fuels. But what are the wider implications, particularly on research grants? Should I be in or out?<br /><br />If you have an ethical dilemma, email Lucy at <a href="mailto:lucy.siegle@observer.co.uk" title="">lucy.siegle@observer.co.uk</a><p>You may not feel powerful, but you are. Students lobbying universities to withdraw endowment funds from fossil fuels are at the cutting edge of climate action. Divestment is the ethical issue of our time, as apartheid and the Vietnam war once were.</p><p>Author and activist Bill McKibben helped to turbocharge student activists, after <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/dec/18/copenhagen-deal">the disappointment of the Copenhagen Accord</a>, through <a href="http://350.org/">350.org</a>. Now 181 universities around the world are committed to divesting funds. On 9 October Glasgow became the first European academic institution to commit to divest. Will yours be next?</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/16/fight-against-fossil-fuels-lucy-siegle">Continue reading...</a>Fossil fuelsEnergyUniversity fundingClimate changeClimate changeEnvironmentHigher educationEthical and green livingInvestment fundsInvestmentsLife and styleSun, 16 Nov 2014 06:00:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/16/fight-against-fossil-fuels-lucy-sieglePhotograph: Steve NymanTake Traid’s Secondhand First Pledge to commit to sourcing part of your wardrobe from pre-loved clothes…Photograph: Steve NymanTake Traid’s Secondhand First Pledge to commit to sourcing part of your wardrobe from pre-loved clothes…Photograph: Jeff Chiu/APLucy Siegle: ‘It’s daunting to go from freshers week into a battle with senior faculty.’ Above: college students at a rally to support fossil-fuel divestment in San Francisco, California, in May 2013. Photograph: Jeff Chiu/APPhotograph: Jeff Chiu/APLucy Siegle: ‘It’s daunting to go from freshers week into a battle with senior faculty.’ Above: college students at a rally to support fossil-fuel divestment in San Francisco, California, in May 2013. Photograph: Jeff Chiu/APLucy Siegle2014-11-16T06:00:02ZWhat can I do about our electronic gadgets constantly being charged or on standby? | Lucy Sieglehttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/may/18/electronic-gadgets-constantly-charged-on-standby
I am in a shared student house and think a lot about the plugged-in devices we have continuously charging or on standby. How terrible should I feel, and what can I do?<br /><strong>■ If you have an ethical dilemma, email Lucy at </strong><a href="mailto:lucy.siegle@observer.co.uk" title=""><strong>lucy.siegle@observer.co.uk</strong></a><p>The smartphone has been called the fifth limb – half of the UK's adult population has one, and 24% of us have tablets. Factor in the gadgets we house, such as electric toothbrushes and various entertainment devices, and it all adds up to a lot of juice.</p><p>The 2007 report <a href="http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/sustainable/refs/TheAmpereStrikesBack%2024thJuly07.pdf" title=""><em>The Ampere Strikes Back</em></a> suggested the energy burden of all our gadgets, especially huge plasma TVs, would undo the benefits of all other residential energy saving. Thanks to EU legislation and some manufacturers' work on energy efficiency, particularly of set-top boxes, emissions from these devices have not yet led to the apocalypse.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/may/18/electronic-gadgets-constantly-charged-on-standby">Continue reading...</a>EnergyEnergy billsEnergy efficiencyEthical and green livingEnvironmentCarbon offsettingLife and styleSun, 18 May 2014 07:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/may/18/electronic-gadgets-constantly-charged-on-standbyDaniel Hambury/Stella PicturesJenny Dawson, of Rubies in the Rubble, at New Spitalfields Market. Her motto: 'To Preserve, To Serve and To Save'. Photograph: Daniel Hambury/Stella PicturesAlamyLucy Siegle: 'You should charge your smartphone, laptops and tablets at night, even if this means they remain plugged in when fully charged.' Photograph: AlamyAlamyLucy Siegle: 'You should charge your smartphone, laptops and tablets at night, even if this means they remain plugged in when fully charged.' Photograph: AlamyLucy Siegle2014-05-18T07:30:00ZThe sunny side of solar powerhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/18/sunny-side-solar-power-farms
I live in the southwest and am horrified by the size of solar farms being built in my local area. What do they achieve?<p>If solar were fashion, we'd say it was having a moment. Over the past few years we've gone from near zero solar photovoltaic panels to 2.5GW of capacity. Of this 1.9GW is installed on rooftops and 0.6GW on giant solar farms, with planning secured for a&nbsp;further 0.9GW of utility scale projects.</p><p>Ordinarily, I'd greet these farms supplying renewable energy with a cheery, &quot;Welcome to the grid!&quot; Unfortunately, my real response on seeing one on a beloved rolling south Devon hillside was more profane. Developers tend to say they're of &quot;low visual impact&quot;. Actually they're positively industrial, guaranteed to bring out your inner Nimby.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/18/sunny-side-solar-power-farms">Continue reading...</a>Solar powerRenewable energyEnergyEthical and green livingEnvironmentLife and styleSun, 18 Aug 2013 07:38:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/18/sunny-side-solar-power-farmsPRA still from the game Of Orcs & MenChris Ison/PA'Farmers are keen as mustard to lease their fields for panels': Lucy Siegle on solar farms. Above: a solar farm in the New Forest which covers 30 acres and supplies 1,000 homes. Photograph: Chris Ison/PAChris Ison/PA'Farmers are keen as mustard to lease their fields for panels': Lucy Siegle on solar farms. Above: a solar farm in the New Forest which covers 30 acres and supplies 1,000 homes. Photograph: Chris Ison/PALucy Siegle2013-08-18T07:38:00ZAm I paying a lot for 'green' energy?http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/21/how-much-green-energy-costs
How much more is so-called green energy adding to my bill?<p>My answer ought to reflect the hideous complexity of the energy industry, incorporating such factors as <a href="http://www.fitariffs.co.uk/FITs/principles/degression/" title="">degression mechanisms</a> and <a href="http://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=carbon-price-floor" title="">carbon-floor pricing</a>. It should have a whiff of rancour, mirroring the internecine warfare that rages around UK energy policy. Finally, it should feel totally desperate, taking its cue from the upcoming <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/oct/05/blackouts-coal-power-stations-ofgem" title="">one-in-12 chance of blackouts</a> as predicted by <a href="http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Pages/OfgemHome.aspx" title="">Ofgem</a>.</p><p>But if you don't mind I'm going to park all that. At the risk of sounding like the ultimate hippy, these negative vibes are not getting us anywhere.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/21/how-much-green-energy-costs">Continue reading...</a>EnergyEthical and green livingEnvironmentCarbon footprintsGreenhouse gas emissionsClimate changeLife and styleSun, 21 Apr 2013 07:30:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/21/how-much-green-energy-costsNigel MillardOcean champion: Conrad Humphreys, who set up the Ecover Blue Mile project. Photograph: Nigel MillardAlamy'Goodenergy.co.uk’s local-energy tariff offers those living next to wind farms of over 4 megawatts a 20% reduction in their energy bill': Lucy Siegle on green energy incentives. Photograph: AlamyAlamy'Goodenergy.co.uk’s local-energy tariff offers those living next to wind farms of over 4 megawatts a 20% reduction in their energy bill': Lucy Siegle on green energy incentives. Photograph: AlamyLucy Siegle2013-04-21T07:30:03ZCan I use energy and be green?http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/sep/05/lucy-siegle-green-energy-monitor-peak-electricity
The truth about energy monitors<p>People keep giving me smart energy monitors. I now have four: the vintage diykyoto.com Wattson – a digital display that changes colour to show energy use; an Owl (<a href="http://theowl.com" title="">theowl.com</a>) that claims to save me &pound;125 a year; <a href="http://Alertme.com" title="">Alertme.com</a> showing energy use in &quot;full colour!&quot;; and, most recently, a <a href="http://Currentcost.com" title="">Currentcost.com</a> – which sends electricity consumption breakdowns to my Google homepage.</p><p>They all give real-time clues to the games consoles, printers and spare freezers that vampirically suck energy from the grid. In the UK, 29% of the country's total energy consumption occurs in the home. By 2015 more than 110m European homes will be monitoring water and gas, too. It should be an austerity no-brainer: if all lights were turned off when not in use we'd save a collective &pound;55m.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/sep/05/lucy-siegle-green-energy-monitor-peak-electricity">Continue reading...</a>Smart metersEthical and green livingEnvironmentLife and styleEnergyEnergy efficiencySat, 04 Sep 2010 23:06:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/sep/05/lucy-siegle-green-energy-monitor-peak-electricityLucy Siegle2010-09-04T23:06:05Z